Blueberry Coconut Bars

March 14, 2017 Tastes of Lizzy T is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any highlighted, clickable Amazon link you see is an affiliate link that we may earn advertising fees on.

I am sooo ready throw up my spring holla hands in a nice pink cardigan. But I can’t. While spring should have sprung 2 weeks ago, it is still cold out. There isn’t one teeny blossom peeking its way from barren tree branches. Not one blade of grass. The sun makes its hazy debut and promptly retreats into thick clouds. Cold rains threaten what should be a sunny spring weather forecast. I can’t throw up my holla hands! My winter coat gets in the way. My umbrella pokes me in the eye.

Now, I’m an island girl who loves her tropical flavors. LOVE THEM. I thought adding coconut flakes and cream of coconut to this batter was a great idea, along with blueberries which are not quite in season, yet are indeed available in the markets.

I macerated blueberries for a bit to bring out their beautiful flavor. Don’t worry – The blueberries will be tart enough to counterbalance the sweetness in the dough.

The dough goes into a dish or pan in two parts – A bottom layer, followed by the blueberries – Then we drop spoonfuls of dough, cobbler style over the blueberries. As it bakes the batter spreads leaving tiny peeks of blueberries in between. It’s gorgeous, I tell you.

Once the batter bakes and cools, you cut them into bars and drizzle a glaze that is mixed with a tiny hint of coconut.

The first bite is heaven. And so is the fifth. The consistency is that of a soft moist cake with bites of sweetened coconut flakes and bursts of tart blueberries. Seriously – You’re going to love them. They are holla hands worthy. And you want to throw up your holla hands for something, right?

For the glaze:

Instructions

Macerate the blueberries:

Rinse the blueberries and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle sugar over the berries. Mix briefly with a spatula and set aside uncovered for about an hour or so.

Bake the batter:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a 9x13 dish and line with parchment leaving a slight overhang. Set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment over medium/high speed. Cream the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes or so.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape the mixer to incorporate. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the mixer. Reduce the speed to low. Add the vanilla bean paste and sweetened cream of coconut*. Mix briefly to combine.

Add the flour in two parts, mixing until just combined. Stop and remove bowl from mixer. Fold in the sweetened coconut flakes. Fold the batter a couple of times to incorporate any dry bits that remain on the bottom of the bowl, but do not over mix. A couple folds is all you need. You will end up with a nice stiff batter. It's cool.

Measure about 3 1/2 cups of batter and drop into prepared pan. Smooth and even out as best you can with a small offset spatula. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Drop spoonfuls of macerated blueberries onto the batter and spread them as even as you can. Drizzle evenly any blueberry syrup that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl.

With a cookie scoop, drop random spoonfuls of remaining batter over the macerated blueberries. No need to smooth it out. This situation will melt and come together.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the top is a golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling a bit. Remove dish (or pan) from the oven and allow it to cool completely before removing from the dish and glazing.

Make the glaze:

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and cream of coconut. Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time and mix with either a small whisk or a fork until you get the desired consistency.

Lifting the parchment overhang, remove bars from the dish. Cut the bars into squares and drizzle glaze over the bars. Top with blueberries if desired. You know, to make this situation look purty and whatnot.

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Tastes of Lizzy T is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Any highlighted, clickable Amazon link you see is an affiliate link.